Exploring Ithaca & New York's Finger Lakes (AP)

From The Associated Press through msn.com:

I went to college in New York's Finger Lakes Region (Hobart College in Geneva, NY).

It is a beautiful part of the world that as Garrison Keillor likes to say "that time forgot and the decades cannot improve".

So when the Assocaited Press writes about the area, I like to share ot with you. But please don't tell toom many others. Let it be our little secret.

"...The Finger Lakes are so named for the 11 long, slender bodies of water that divide the region from north to south, making any east-west journey a time-consuming operation. ..."

"...The landscape was formed 2 million years ago, when a series of glacial advances and retreats scooped out north-south river valleys to form the deep basins that became the lakes. That left the east-west streams nowhere to go but down, down, down, creating dramatic gorges and waterfalls..."

"Virtually forgotten by the rest of the country, and a bit down at the heels, many of these towns or their heritage-minded residents have preserved handsome specimens of 19th-century architecture, from the classical lines of Federal and Greek Revival styles to ornate Victorian confections. The imposing mansions are a reminder of the region's wealth and importance during the heyday of the Erie Canal, when the farmland south of Lake Ontario was some of the most productive in the nation...."

http://travel.msn.com/Guides/article.aspx?cp-documentid=422187&GT1=10442